RadNet
Our research in this domain is part of the CRUK RadNet network. We investigate the medical applications of High Energy Physics and are involved with a number of projects.
VoxTox
The VoxTox Research Programme, funded by Cancer Research UK, focuses on reducing toxicity from radiotherapy (RT). This will have benefits for patients and society. Additionally, individualised reduction of toxicity risk will allow dose escalation, and combination with chemotherapy. Since a strong radiotherapy dose-response relationship exists for many tumours, this will improve cancer cure rates.
AGORA-RT
Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM) is one of the most common – and most aggressive – of brain cancers, responsible for more years of life lost per patient than any other common adult cancer. GBM tumours show rapid and extensive microscopic infiltration of tumour cells away from the primary disease site and into normal brain tissue; making combination treatment with surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy challenging and overall medial survival extremely poor. This microscopic infiltration is not visible on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), so to try and avoid missing these invading tumour cells, a large “safety margin” around the primary tumour is included in the high-dose radiotherapy field, causing a large volume of normal brain surrounding the tumour to be irradiated with significant toxicity. Identical margins are typically used for these margins for GBM radiotherapy, irrespective of an individual patient’s tumour location or biology.
The aims of AGORA-RT are to change this “one size fits all” approach and show the feasibility of an individualised approach for optimising radiotherapy fields. We will use mathematical models of tumour growth and infiltration, guided by data from MRI, with the aim of improving outcomes and reducing toxicity.
Accel-RT
Radiotherapy is an essential aspect of cancer treatment, responsible for destroying the cancer in 40% of those patients who are cured. It makes a greater contribution to overall survival than chemotherapy. This project will build upon STFC-funded research to deliver a high performance, service-based computing solution, ready for use with existing treatment platforms, and validate this solution in partnership with a leading technology supplier, Siemens Healthcare. Whether treatment is implemented with X-rays or particle beams, a common characteristic is increased precision in dose delivery. The ability to target only the cancerous tissue has immediate benefits in terms of both survival and quality of life. High precision radiotherapy treatment comes at a cost, in terms of manual, labour-intensive treatment planning. Before a patient can be treated, a radiation oncologist has to analyse the results of imaging with multiple modalities - CT scans, X-rays, MRI scans and PET images - delineate the tumour, and all adjacent anatomical structures before the planning physicist can calculate the optimal selection of beam angles and intensities. They must take account also of the movement of tumours and organs during radiotherapy. Furthermore, as tumour volume and position will change over time, this analysis would ideally be repeated for each radiotherapy session
GHOST
The GHOST project, funded by the Wellcome Foundation, aims to use tools developed in High Energy Physics (such as GEANT) in the field of radiation biology.